Actelion AG reported an 18% gain in net revenue for 2016 and a 20% increase in operating profit in its last annual accounts as a separate entity before Johnson & Johnson Inc completes the acquisition of the Swiss company for $30 billion.
Protagen AG, a diagnostics company located in Dortmund, Germany, has joined forces with the US National Cancer Institute (NCI) to identify biomarkers that will predict how well patients respond to checkpoint antibody therapies, and identify immune-related adverse events.
The language was assertive, almost combative. Four venture capitalists were asked to give their views of the environment for biotech investment in Europe and they each spoke about the need to identify good assets early, while jettisoning those with less promise.
The Food and Drug Administration has approved a second drug for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), a rare genetic disorder that causes a progressive deterioration of muscle. The treatment is a corticosteroid called Emflaza (deflazacort) that works by decreasing inflammation and reducing the activity of the immune system.
With the UK government on course to begin the legal process for leaving the EU, industry leaders have spoken openly about the impact. In separate teleconferences, the CEOs of AstraZeneca Plc and GlaxoSmithKline Plc (GSK) said the EMA would almost certainly have to re-locate.
Novo A/S, the holding company for the Danish diabetes and enzymes empire, has invested €90.3 million in Evotec AG, the German research service and product development company.
Sanofi SA reported slightly higher sales in 2016, boosted by income from multiple sclerosis products from Genzyme. But the big event of the year was the completion of a swap with Boehringer Ingelheim enlarging Sanofi's consumer products portfolio.
GlaxoSmithKline Plc (GSK) said that core earnings per share could be flat or show a slight decline this year if a generic version of its respiratory medicine Advair is launched in the US. The UK company has been preparing for generic competition since the Advair patent expired in 2010.
H. Lundbeck A/S reported greatly improved results for 2016 as a result of a rolling restructuring that was initiated in the second half of 2015, leading the Danish neurology company to predict that it will improve profitability in the coming years to equal 25% of revenue before charges for interest and taxes.
Prexton Therapeutics SA of Geneva, Switzerland has raised €29 million in a Series B financing round to support two Phase 2 studies of Foliglurax, an experimental compound for Parkinson’s disease that targets a positive allosteric modulator.